Vegetable Orzo Soup

Vegetable Soup with spinach peppers, carrots and orzo pasta

Vegetable Orzo Soup is a tasty and filling soup. Perfect for chilly days, this soup is packed with veggies, spinach and orzo. Great for dinner or lunch.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings

Calories 195kcal

Author Michelle Alston

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion (145g) finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1 medium carrot finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon of dried red chilli flakes
1 medium red bell pepper pith and seeds removed, then chopped into smallish chunks
1 14.5oz can of diced/chopped tomatoes (1x 400g can) + ¼ cup of water to catch any tomatoes left in the can
½ cup of orzo (100g) dry weight
5 cups of low sodium vegetable stock (1.2 litres)
½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cups of spinach (60g)
½ teaspoon salt divided
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
chopped parsley for serving (optional)
grated vegetarian parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the chopped onion, carrot celery and ¼ teaspoon of salt then cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often. The onion should be soft along with the carrot and celery.
Add three minced cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and ¼ teaspoon of dried red chilli flakes to the pan then cook for about a minute.
Pour 1 can of chopped/diced tomatoes into the pan. Add about ¼ cup of water to the can, give it a swirl to catch any remaining tomatoes. Pour the water into the pan also.
Add the chopped red bell pepper then stir well.
Pour the stock into the pan along with half a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of cracked black pepper.
Add the orzo to the soup. Bring the soup to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring all the time.
Once the orzo is al dente turn off the heat then stir in the spinach.
Serve with grated vegetarian parmesan and some chopped parsley.

Notes

Nutritional Information - is approximate and is calculated using an online tool. It does not include any grated vegetarian parmesan.
Onions - I use red onion to make this soup. I have made it with yellow onion with similar results.
Sweating the veggies - if youc an try and sweat the onion, carrot and celery for at least 15 minutes. I have made this soup without doing this and the result was just not the same.
Orzo - Resist the temptation to add more orzo! I have tested this recipe with 1 cup and 1 +½ a cup of dry orzo and both were way too much and the result was not a soup. ½ a cup or 100g is the perfect amount.
Stirring - It is really important to stir the soup as much as you can once you add the orzo. The dry orzo will sink to the bottom of the soup and will stick to the bottom of the pan if you don't stir it.
Is this soup vegan? This soup is vegan, I haven't classified it as bvegan as I add cheese to the finnished dish.
Can I make this gluten-free? You will have to switch the orzo to a gluten-free pasta and make sure the stock you use in gluten-free.

Nutrition